User:AnassARU2000/Lulu Gaitan Kayage

Lulu Gaitan Kayage (born 6 October 1990) is a professional Tanzanian boxer. She is an advocate for equal rights and pay for women within the sport of boxing in Tanzania.

Biography
Lulu was born and raised in Dar-Es-Salaam in the Iringa region of central Tanzania; her mother died in childbirth, leaving her father to raise her. He died in a traffic accident, and at age eight Lulu was an orphan living with her extended family.

When she was 16 years old, Lulu started selling fruit in the local market and saving money to start her own business. She was robbed by a group of men, who stole her savings from her basket. At the age of 18 she began boxing in a gym in order to protect herself, while still working in the market and her small shop. Her boxing coach saw her potential and encouraged her to pursue the sport professionally. Lulu said, “In Tanzania, there are no families that would accept a sport like boxing, especially as a girl. So naturally, I faced some challenges.”. Lulu also stated  “They wouldn’t accept it, so I kept it a secret,". She concealed her secret for years until it was discovered in a newspaper piece in 2013 that she would contest in the South African internationals.. After seeing a photo of Lulu with a squad of boxers, her uncle informed the rest of the family about her boxing profession, which surprised them all. Lulu went on to win the internationals at age 23. The success evidently caught her whole family by surprise but were ultimately proud of her which earned her a lot of respect. Lulu would be considered one of the few female athletes in Southern Africa competing in a sport that is still dominated by men. "I meet many women who like boxing, but I can’t lie to them and say that it pays. Boxing in Tanzania is not a job,” Lulu says.

Kayage competed again in the South Africa internationals in 2016. She signed up to Skylon Promotions, run by Promise Moyo of Johannesburg.

She now has a boxing match every other month and also continues working her other job as a fruit seller by the road. Lulu seeks to make the ring a more comfortable place for women stating “If we were around 20 female boxers in Tanzania, we would have a voice”.

In the June 2021 WIBA ratings, Kayage was placed at #61 in the flyweight division. In October of that year, she fought Egine Kayange of Tanzania, losing on points; and in November she signed a six-month film contract with a German company. In late 2021 and early 2022, she was performing with a Swiss theatre group.

On 22 February 2022 Kayage had a fight in Dubai against Sarjubala Devi, Devi's first match as a pro, and lost over six rounds. She fought in Tanzania against Stumai Muki on 26 March 2022, losing the bout.

Awards
She has won six out of seven international matches against competitors from South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, and Zambia in her flyweight category.

Lulu has had 17 professional bouts with a record of:


 * 7 wins with 2 coming by knock out
 * 7 defeats
 * 3 draws